Gator Bites and Frog Legs

After our adventure in the Everglades, we were famished. I was trying to be frugal and wait till we get home - after all, we were only about 40 minutes away, I reasoned - but Husband and kids won out. Even Explorer was shouting from her car seat and smacking her lips. I surrender. We stopped at a joint with a multitude of ATVs in camo parked in front of it. We knew were still in gator country, as matter of fact, the eatery was called Gator Grill. Husband, who's recently been caught watching Duck Dynasty episodes more than once, had a mischievous grin on his face. "Wanna get some gator bites and frog legs?" he asked, drawing out the vowels in the latter word. Matching his grin, I replied with a smile of my own, "Sure!" He looked a bit taken aback, but then again, he didn't know that I had been wanting to try frog legs since I had read that it was a French delicacy. After all, I had tried snails in Disney's Epcot France. Frogs should be easier.

He went in with Builder and Ballerina, both excited at the prospect of eating, but not so sure about the frog legs. After what seemed to be half an hour, but perhaps closer to 15 minutes, they stepped out with the bounty. Husband looked pleased, and whispered in a conspiratorial way, "Do you see how many people are here? It must be a good place." I had to agree. We were in the proverbial middle of nowhere and the place was packed. He opened the box and showed me the frog legs, which looked like this:

It has some kind of light creamy sauce on it and a side of what looked like saffron-colored rice. The legs looked nice and well cooked. An A for presentation. Now onto the gator bites. We had had gator bites before, I have had it twice. They normally come deep fried and are quite tough, though pretty good tasting. These gator bites were different, and the kids were so hungry they didn't mind trying the gator bites. Builder was apprehensive of trying the frog legs, though. Here's what these gator bites looked like:

They were grilled, in a creamy salmon-colored sauce, served with fries. Builder had given up fries for Lent, and as he was hungry, he quickly dove in and tried the bites. He said they were all right, but a bit spicy. He kept eating, though. Ballerina had a few but thought they were too spicy. She went the safe route with the ketchup and fries.

As for us grownups? We also had some gator bites, but left those largely to Builder. They were surprisingly tender, and indeed, the sauce had a kick to it. Those were the best gator bites I have ever had. Husband agreed.

Now onto the frog legs - are they as succulent as Jase from Duck Dynasty claims they are? Hmm.. I have to admit, they fall off the bone and the meat melts in your mouth. As for taste, both Husband and I were surprised at how tasty they are. Phil, the patriarch and my favorite from the duck show, calls them a delicacy. I have a feeling we have arrived very late at the party. There are hundreds of thousands who already know this "secret".

Even the kids had to admit the frog legs were tasty. They ceased to touch it after thinking about what they were eating. It's so much easier to let go of the hen and cow image as our food doesn't look like the living animals anymore, but these legs are a clear reminder.

I also found googled nutrition and frog legs are apparently low in fat and provides a decent amount of protein.

I asked Husband if he would have given frog legs a try had he not watched Duck Dynasty. Nope, he replied. Just another way this show is breaking ground.